Vaccine communication is essential for strong pandemic influenza preparedness. In the European Region, three PIP vaccine safety communication workshops brought together immunization programme managers, national regulatory authority decision-makers and ministry of health officials to learn skills for responding effectively to any vaccine safety event, including situations where real or perceived adverse events are affecting trust and confidence.
Drawing on country case examples and a simulation exercise, participants learned about practical, informative strategies and tools to help develop a risk communication strategy in response to vaccine safety events. Organised by the WHO Regional Office for Europe, the PIP workshops were held in Albania, Kazakhstan and Turkey with participants from Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Montenegro, the Republic of Moldova, Serbia, Tajikistan, The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.